Local services
Debrecen’s 2024 urban management and green space budget is designed to implement the Green Code. The city’s expanding economy allows us to spend more and more each year on running, cleaning and greening the city,”, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, responsible for the city’s urban management and environmental protection Ákos Balázs said.
In Debrecen’s 2024 budget, HUF 6.44 billion will be spent on city operations and HUF 5.06 billion on green space. The resources for these areas are increasing year by year, compared to 2020, we are spending more than twice as much on both areas. These figures show that Debrecen is developing in a green and sustainable way.
The Green Codex is the largest urban greening programme in the country, and in 2024 we will spend HUF 12.26 billion from the budget lines to implement these measures.
“The City Leader said Debrecen is a knowledge-based city. The Green Codex was prepared with the involvement of the University of Debrecen, with an academic background. The programme was finalised with the participation of the people of Debrecen, who cast 60 000 votes for the measures of the Green Codex. The scientific background and the participation of the people of Debrecen guarantee that Debrecen will be a developing, healthy and happy city, this is what we are working on,” Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, responsible for the city’s management and environmental protection, Ákos Balázs underlined at his press conference on the 16th of February 2024.
“In 2019, the city announced a new environmental policy, as part of which in 2020 we created the New Urban Management Concept, and more recently we have prepared the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) and the Sustainable Urban Development Strategy. Next week the General Assembly will discuss Debrecen’s Environmental Programme, the Green Codex. These strategic documents are mutually reinforcing,” Deputy Mayor Ákos Balázs said.
Environmental Audit Scheme – Safety and Development!
Together with the professors and experts of the University of Debrecen, we prepared the scientific strategy document that will serve as the basis for monitoring stations monitoring changes in water, air, soil and biodiversity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The monitoring stations will be set up at 16 sites. The Environmental Monitoring System will also be supported by artificial intelligence. This year, we are spending HUF 804 million on its installation and operation.
Water for the Great Forest! – Continuing the Civaqua programme
Thanks to the first phase of the Civaqua programme, the water of the Tisza arrived in Debrecen in 2023. The planning of phase 2/a is currently underway, and the continuation of the programme is ensured by the cooperation of the government, the National Water Directorate General, TIVIZIG. The entire Civaqua program creates a blue ring around Debrecen. For the people of Debrecen, a dream of more than 50 years has come true with the implementation of the first phase of the Civaqua program.
The continuation of the Civaqua programme is also of particular importance for the people of Debrecen, as at the Green Codex vote for Water for the Great Forest! and Water for the Forest! were cast into the top two places.
Together with the people living in Debrecen, we are making several sections of the Tócó homely, so we are creating a nature trail and a 1,000-metre recortan-covered running track in Józsa and we are launching community planning to develop the environment of the Vezér Road reservoir.
We will plant another 10,000 trees! – We will continue the urban tree planting
In the spring we will plant our 10,000th tree, and this year we will launch another 10,000 trees programme, as well as planting fruit trees in addition to those tree species that are more suited to the urban environment. The 10,000 trees will offset the impact of 8,000 cars, provide 32 hectares of shade, bind 45 tons of dust and 80 tons of carbon dioxide.
We create green corridors and protective forests
Previously, 40,000 forestry trees and 725 small trees were planted in Józsa, Pallag and along the Tócó stream. Along the Northwestern Economic Zone, we planted 3,000 small trees and tens of thousands of shrubs, and around the Southern Economic Zone and along the Tócó River, 1,000 small trees. Green corridors will be created along the blue corridor of the Civaqua programme. With the first 10,000 trees programme and the protective forests, we will plant a total of 28,000 trees, which will sequester 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide and 1,200 tons of dust per year, provide 90 hectares of shade and improve the sensation of heat by 6-8 degrees Celsius in the summer heat.
The City Reflex – Smart city management
We replaced the computers of the traffic junctions worth HUF 352 million, which we can control by remote monitoring. We implement artificial intelligence-supported traffic management based on real-time data, create a Big Data data centre, install cameras and sensors, replace traffic lights with LEDs, and establish remote monitoring of the city’s energy system.
City lights – Making traffic safer
We upgraded 3000 luminaires in 2023 and 2700 luminaires replaced with smart, controllable LEDs in 2024, improving road safety and reducing electricity consumption.This means a reduction of about 700 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and a cost saving of almost HUF 800 million.Pedestrian crossing lights will be replaced at more than 90 junctions, making pedestrian traffic more visible and safer.
We help people living in panel houses!
The Green Cities Programme, which covers 10 districts, has been completed, resulting in a larger area of better quality green spaces that can absorb 400 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The panel programme announced last year will be continued again this year with a budget of HUF 500 million. Unlike last year, the subsidy can be used for the renovation of the elevators this year, in addition to the replacement of thermal insulation, doors and windows, and elevators. In the case of an 87-apartment, 10-story panel building, the energy saving is 435 MWH per year, and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is 94 tons.
Cleaner roads for a healthier environment
As part of the Garden Development Program, we are carrying out large-surface asphalting on 24 streets, building new roads on 23 streets and asphalting on 8 road sections in housing estates. In recent years, 17,500 square metres have been paved, which we will continue this year to make the roads easier to keep clean and dust-free.
Green energy revolution: development of new solar parks for the city’s sustainable future
We are developing solar parks with a total capacity of 30 megawatts at two points in the city, which will ensure the energy supply of electric buses and trams. In cooperation with the University of Debrecen, we are launching building energy consultancy, helping the people of Debrecen to make their homes more modern, energy-efficient and sustainable.
Water is our common treasure – continuation of the residential rainfall collection program
In the southern part of the city, we distributed 485 rainwater collection barrels in 2023. This year, we are providing 5,000 rainwater collection containers for free to the people of Debrecen, with which we help keep rainwater in place and relieve the burden on the sewer network.
Another residential Led replacement program
In 2023, we provided 76,000 LED light sources to 6,000 households in Debrecen. This year, until the 15th of February, we were waiting for the registration of the citizens of Debrecen who missed out on the program last year for the free light bulbs.
The LED bulbs result in 85 percent less electricity consumption, which left Debrecen families with about HUF 250 million. At the city level, with an average of 3 hours of use per day, resulting in a saving of 1125 tons of carbon dioxide.
Green community
The Future of Debrecen movement has created a green community in Debrecen. Our aim is to make this green community a community of all Debrecen residents, so we will continue the Nature of Debrecen and Past & Future awareness walks, the Future Workshop panel discussions, and this year we will have a Big Forest Week and a Future of Debrecen Family Day. Debrecen’s first community orchard will be created and the Instant Forest will be launched. And we will create a new community garden as part of the Green Garden Debrecen Garden Network.
“Deputy Mayor Ákos Balázs stressed that Debrecen is a knowledge-based city, and the knowledge that is available locally can be put to the service of environmental protection and sustainable urban development. We started our work in 2019 and our goal when we announced the new environmental policy was to create a community of action so that the city could move together for sustainability and green issues. That is why we created the Green working group, which has been constantly expanding, and in the past year has been supplemented with the professors and knowledge base of the University of Debrecen, and we have launched the Future of Debrecen movement, which has initiated and implemented 30 measures in the city in recent years. The measures reinforce each other, and they are all programs that contribute to Debrecen being able to develop in a green and sustainable way, ” the Deputy Mayor concluded his briefing.
Source: debrecen.hu
